A hundred years ago, the political use of anti-Semitism had just taken off in
Europe. In Vienna, all the politicians used it — rightwing nationalists, the
center parties, even the left Social Democrats. "It's just rhetoric," people
said. But there was a young man in Vienna at that time who didn't think it was
just rhetoric. His name was Adolph Hitler. Before he was finished, European
Jewry had been destroyed, and Europe lay in ruins.

What's the lesson? That once religious bigotry gets into public discourse, it's
very hard to get it out. And religious hatred isn't "just rhetoric." It's the
political equivalent of lighting a match to find a gas leak — there's nothing so
bad that an appeal to religious bigotry won't make it exponentially worse.

For the first time in American history, a major candidate has signaled that he
intends to use Islamophobia in a presidential campaign. Rudy Giuliani has
recruited the hatemonger Daniel Pipes, Islamophobe Peter King and
neoconservative godfather Norman Podhoretz as advisors. Clearly Giuliani wants
to enlist the Religious Right and the neocons, and will caucus hard for key
Jewish support. He'll also try to attract center-right Catholics, centrist
Republicans and powerful elements of the military-industrial complex who
remember the glory years — and the profits — of the Cold War. He'll be supported
by AM hate radio, the Fox network, and rightwing Web sites and newspapers.

Rudy's message is simple: "Radical Islam is the new evil empire, and I will
decide who's radical and who isn't. Those who question my judgment are
traitors." Giuliani is already arguing for a robust U.S. imperialism in the
Middle East, and will use religious language to suggest a new Christian crusade
there.

That's one reason why Pat Robertson's recent endorsement of Giuliani is so
important. Robertson's apocalyptic appeals to religious war are well-known, but
he increasingly has company on the right. Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Rick
Scarborough, Charles Colson, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have all jumped on
the "Clash of Civilizations" bandwagon. The suddenness with which they've lost
interest in previous social issues suggests that they've always been about
getting state power, not morality.

Luckily, the Religious Right is currently split on presidential endorsements,
but their inherent power-worship — not to mention their dislike of Muslims—will
probably pull the evangelical theo-cons into Giuliani's camp if the other
candidates drop out.

Giuliani stands for torture, immigrant-bashing, an increased "Christianization"
of America and a neoconservative worldview instead of realism. In the Middle
East, he'll support collective punishment of Palestinians in order to show the
Arab and Muslim worlds exactly who is in charge. He will uncritically support
Israel, and almost surely attack Iran. Domestically, he'll demonize the
organized Muslim community, occasionally releasing the most vocal rightwing
attack dogs (Pipes, Coulter, Malkin) to hint at Muslim internment — and seizure
of organizational assets — if they don't stay in line.

He'll also use what I call "secondary Islamophobia," implying that everybody who
doesn't agree with him is aiding and abetting terrorism. He'll use the trauma of
9/11 to undermine the Bill of Rights, intimidate the judiciary and frighten the
people. To justify domination of Muslims abroad — and the developing world
generally — he will promote the Western fantasy of an Islamic "caliphate" that
threatens democracy. In reality, it is precisely Giuliani's kind of political
bigotry that truly threatens democracy.

The organized Muslim community has been a good role model for a dignified,
principled defense of the Palestinians. Hopefully, it can form the broadest
possible interfaith coalition to lead the counterattack against political
Islamophobia. It could sponsor vigils, press conferences, press releases and
newspaper ads opposing religious bigotry by electoral candidates. And it might
begin by respectfully but assertively informing the American people about Rudy
Giuliani's hateful allies and advisors.

Lawrence Swaim is the Executive Director of the
Interfaith Freedom Foundation. He taught for eight years at Pacific Union
College, and his academic specialties are American Studies and American
literature. His column addresses current affairs from an American Christian and
Interfaith perspective.